Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

December 2011 - Digital Minute Issue 14, Brad Matthies

Digital Minute

This issue promotes the 2011 Annual Report.

What's Up Newsletter, December 2011

What's Up Newsletter

A newsletter published for Deaf Catholics in Milwaukee, WI

What's Up Newsletter Finding Aid

Overview Of Contrast Data Mining As A Field And Preview Of An Upcoming Book, Guozhu Dong, James Bailey

Kno.e.sis Publications

This report provides an overview of the field of contrast data mining and its applications, and offers a preview of an upcoming book on the topic. The importance of contrasting is discussed and a brief survey is given covering the following topics: general definitions and terminology for contrast patterns, representative contrast pattern mining algorithms, applications of contrast mining for fundamental data mining tasks such as classification and clustering, applications of contrast mining in bioinformatics, medicine, blog analysis, image analysis and subgroup mining, results on contrast based dataset similarity measure, and on analyzing item interaction in contrast patterns, and open research …

Computing Inconsistency Measure Based On Paraconsistent Semantics, Pascal Hitzler, Yue Ma, Guilin Qi

Computer Science and Engineering Faculty Publications

Measuring inconsistency in knowledge bases has been recognized as an important problem in several research areas. Many methods have been proposed to solve this problem and a main class of them is based on some kind of paraconsistent semantics. However, existing methods suffer from two limitations: (i) they are mostly restricted to propositional knowledge bases; (ii) very few of them discuss computational aspects of computing inconsistency measures. In this article, we try to solve these two limitations by exploring algorithms for computing an inconsistency measure of first-order knowledge bases. After introducing a four-valued semantics for first-order logic, we define an …

From Nixon’S War On Drugs To Obama’S Drug Policies Today: Presidential Progress In Addressing Racial Injustices And Disparities, Cigdem Sirin

Selected Works Temporary Series

This study investigates presidential progress in addressing racial injustices and disparities within the context of the war on drugs. I argue that racial inequalities emanating from the war on drugs have been largely overlooked and at times aggravated by previous administrations. Although there have been some improvements in this regard since President Obama took office, more extensive policy reforms are needed to better remedy such inequalities. I also argue that the viability of a progressive presidency for racial justice vis-à-vis U.S. drug policies depends not only on the personal agenda of the president but also on a supportive public as …

Staff Of The People? Assessing Progress In Descriptive Representation Under The Obama Administration, José Villalobos

Selected Works Temporary Series

Over the past few decades, presidents have made some increasingly noticeable efforts to fill their administrations with a higher number of minorities. Though not yet fully representative of the general public, such advances in descriptive representation are a sign of progressive change occurring within the executive branch, with positive potential implications for the state of representative democracy and public policy. In this article, I survey the current state of descriptive representation under the Obama presidency and the extent to which the president’s policy agenda has substantively addressed the needs of historically underrepresented groups. Descriptively, I find that President Barack Obama …

Universal Women's Rights Since 1970: The Centrality Of Autonomy And Agency, Rhoda E. Howard-Hassmann

Political Science Faculty Publications

This article reviews the development of universal women’s human rights since 1970. It begins by discussing how the international feminist movement influenced the development of women’s legal human rights, and continues by reviewing three debates in the literature on women’s rights. The first debate is whether human rights as originally formulated were actually men’s rights; the second debate is about the relationship between culture and women’s rights; and the third considers the effects of globalization on women’s rights. The author defends a liberal approach to human rights via the principles of equality and autonomy for women, but also argues that …

Accentuating The Negative: Reply To Hertel And Arat, Rhoda E. Howard-Hassmann

Political Science Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Population Forecasts For The Tri-City Servicedistrict, Clackamas County Service District #1, Clackamas County Service District #1 With All Damascus, And The City Of Milwaukie 2010-2040, Portland State University. Population Research Center, Risa S. Proehl, Kanhaiya Vaidya, Bimal Rajbhandary, Kevin Rancik

Oregon Population Estimates and Reports

The Tri-City Service District (TCSD) and Clackamas County Service District #1 (CCSD #1), both of Clackamas County, requested that the Population Research Center (PRC) at Portland State University produce long-term population forecasts for each of the two sewer service districts. In addition, CCSD#1 requested that forecasts also be developed to include the entire city of Damascus to account for possible future annexation into its district; and the city of Milwaukie, as CCSD#1 leases services to Milwaukie. The forecast horizon extends 30 years from 2010 to 2040, and projections are produced in 5-year intervals. For the 2010-2015 interval, forecast numbers for …

Hédi Bouraoui Et Les Limites De La Théorie Postcoloniale : Approche Transpoétique Et Nomadique, Éric Touya De Marenne

Présence Francophone: Revue internationale de langue et de littérature

A priori, Hedi Bouraoui’s thought lies within the scope of a postcolonial perspective. However, the concept of “transpoétique” to which he alludes is based on the notion of “nomaditude” which asserts the blurring of cultural and identity borders. That is why beyond the “infernal binary” thought that he rejects (ruler / dominated, colonizer / colonized), the Tunisian and Canadian author puts in question the postcolonial approach. In this context, the aim of this study is to understand better how trans-poetics can allow us to conceive differently the theoretical foundations of francophone literary criticism.

Résonances Politiques Du Cahier D’Un Retour Au Pays Natal, Entre Hier, Aujourd’Hui Et Demain, Jérôme Roger

Présence Francophone: Revue internationale de langue et de littérature

The article shows that the Return to my Native Land by Aimé Césaire, facing the French literary standards, is a poem by the strangeness that rout and bother to any form of falsification of history, in any situation of ideological mystification, as well as any attempt at annexation heritage. Misunderstanding of reception in France among the most famous poets in the 1950s are a particularly significant example and invite you to reread the poem of Césaire as the tragedy of a timeless voice, open to our common future.

Parades Banlieusardes. El Hadj De Mamadou Mahmoud N’Dongo Et Les Identités Criminelles, Hervé Tchumkam

Présence Francophone: Revue internationale de langue et de littérature

This article aims at understanding the relation between crime and identity formations in the French banlieues, especially in the wake of the 2005 urban riots. The essay performs a reading Mamadou N’Dongo’s novel El Hadj at the intersection of aesthetics and politics in order to scrutinize identity formations and related debates at stake in the prisons of poverty and oppression that constitute the banlieues whose inhabitants are the third or fourth generation of the heirs to African immigration in France. Ultimately, the paper contention is that what I call “banlieue parade” stands out as the new model of identity that …

Associative And Error-Driven Learning In Younger And Older Adults, Candice B. T. Groves

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Previous research has consistently shown associative deficits in older adults learning and memory (Chalfonte & Johnson 1996; Naveh-Benjamin, 2000; Naveh-Benjamin, Hussain, & Bar-On 2003) that are related to decreases in hippocampal function (Driscoll et al., 2003; Mitchell, Johnson, Raye, & D’Esposito, 2000). However, older adults learn certain simple predictive relationships between events (Mutter & Williams, 2004) that involve basal ganglia dependent error-driven learning. The goal of the current study was to determine whether error-driven learning could reduce the age-related associative deficits that are associated with hippocampal decline. The results did not support the idea that error-driven learning enhanced older adults’ …

Operationalizing Good Schools In Kentucky, Tonya S. Lanphier

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This thesis explores three models of a good school: the Modified Academic Index Model, the Demographically-Adjusted Model, and the Equity Model. The Modified Academic Index Model uses test scores, from the Commonwealth Accountability Testing System 2008 and 2009 academic year, to measure good schools. The Demographically-Adjusted Model uses these test scores while controlling for certain demographic variables. The Equity Model uses standard deviations of these test scores to measure quality schools. Rankings of the 228 public high schools in Kentucky are developed for each model. The rankings of the models are then compared.

An Analysis Of Burmese And Iraqi Resettlement Location And Assimilation In A Midsized City: Implications For Educational And Other Community Leaders, Donna Schiess Renaud

Dissertations

Refugees face different circumstances than other immigrants regarding housing in initial resettlement in the U.S. Refugees have no choice of their initial residence as this is determined in advance by the resettlement agency. Refugees who belong to minority ethnic groups and who have little education or skills may experience discrimination and hostility from local citizens. Resettlement areas that are high in population density, rental units, minorities, crime, unemployment, inadequate transportation, and low income may present additional barriers to cultural and economic assimilation.

This mixed-method study had a twofold purpose. The first was to describe quantitatively how the initial resettlement address …

Age Differences In Revision Of Causal Belief, Kristi M. Simmons

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Inductive reasoning (IR) requires efficient working memory (WM). Research shows that the prefrontal cortex (PFC) is involved during WM tasks and that PFC functioning declines with age. The ability to comprehend and update text-based information requires an intact PFC and efficient WM and IR. The current study presented a series of messages about the investigation of a warehouse fire to 48 young and 48 older adults. One message contained a piece of misinformation which another message corrected later. It was hypothesized that a memory cue to the misinformation with the correction statement should benefit older adults the most during the …

Socialization, Role Attainment And Stigma Management In Bdsm, Ronald Lynn Hopper Jr.

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This research focuses on the methods of introduction into BDSM, role identification, and the management of private information as it relates to BDSM. The method utilized for this study was in-depth interviews of fifteen current participants in the BDSM subculture. It is primarily through peer association, sexual scripting, and impression management that new members are introduced, learn their role, and manage their information within the BDSM subculture. It was found that peer association is the primary method of socializing members. Role identification is accomplished through both a method of sexual scripting as well as complimentary differentiation, the process by which …

A Spatial Analysis Of Offender Residence And Neighborhood Crime Rate: An Exploratory Study Of Gang Membership, Matthew Ryan Laurin

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A thesis presented to the faculty of the Caudill College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences at Morehead State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts by Matthew Ryan Laurin in December of 2011.

Afghan Genetic Mysteries, Bernard Dupaigne

Human Biology Open Access Pre-Prints

Letter To The Editor

Constructions Of Citizenship Among Multinational Corporations, Gail L. Markle

Faculty Articles

Using social contract theory as a foundation I examined the ways in which four multinational corporations use disclosures of corporate social responsibility to present themselves as good corporate citizens. Several factors influence a corporation’s use of CSR: size of the corporation, public visibility, personal commitment of high ranking executives, location of manufacturing operations, and types of stakeholders. There is a significant difference in the responsibilities and obligations Proctor & Gamble, Kimberly-Clark, and Colgate-Palmolive ascribe to themselves as corporate citizens compared to those of SC Johnson. I attribute this difference to one of stakeholder accountability, specifically public shareholders. The three publicly …

Using Counter-Memory To Build An Historical Knowledge Of Struggle, Gonzalo CháVez Villanueva

Ethnic Studies

The primary goal of this project was to transcribe a 2010 interview with Raul Ceja, a resident of Santa Maria, California who had been a member of the Local 1222 of the Laborers International Union of North America. The interviewee Raul Ceja was born in Guadalupe, California, raised in Nipomo, and was a current resident of Santa Maria, California at the time of the interview. Raul Ceja is known locally and respected for facilitating the United Farm Workers Union’s establishment throughout the Central Coast. The significance of Raul Ceja’s interview is that he has personal reflections and perspectives on controversies …

Smu Lee Kong Chian School Of Business One Of The Youngest In The World To Be Equis-Accredited For Five Years, Singapore Management University

SMU Press Releases and News

No abstract provided.

A Non-Invasive Assay For Monitoring Stress Responses: A Comparison Between Wild And Captive-Reared Rainbowfish (Melanoteania Duboulayi), Amina Zuberi, Sinan Ali, Culum Brown

Aquaculture Collection

The stress response of wild and captive reared rainbowfish (Melanoteania duboulayi) following chasing by a simulated predator was examined. Cortisol release rate was monitored using a flow through system by measuring water borne hormone levels. Tests using known cortisol concentrations revealed that the technique yielded 95% of the cortisol present in the water. Cortisol release rates increased several fold in both populations after being chased but peaked at different time periods. Wild fish showed a typical stress response with release rate rising to (2.29±0.22 ng g⁻¹ h⁻¹) 2 h after exposure followed by rapid recovery. The captive-reared …

Animal Pain: What It Is And Why It Matters, Bernard E. Rollin

Animal Welfare Collection

The basis of having a direct moral obligation to an entity is that what we do to that entity matters to it. The ability to experience pain is a sufficient condition for a being to be morally considerable. But the ability to feel pain is not a necessary condition for moral considerability. Organisms could have possibly evolved so as to be motivated to flee danger or injury or to eat or drink not by pain, but by ‘‘pangs of pleasure’’ that increase as one fills the relevant need or escapes the harm. In such a world, ‘‘mattering’’ would be positive, …

Lessons From Chimpanzee-Based Research On Human Disease: The Implications Of Genetic Differences, Jarrod Bailey

Laboratory Experiments Collection

Assertions that the use of chimpanzees to investigate human diseases is valid scientifically are frequently based on a reported 98–99% genetic similarity between the species. Critical analyses of the relevance of chimpanzee studies to human biology, however, indicate that this genetic similarity does not result in sufficient physiological similarity for the chimpanzee to constitute a good model for research, and furthermore, that chimpanzee data do not translate well to progress in clinical practice for humans. Leading examples include the minimal citations of chimpanzee research that is relevant to human medicine, the highly different pathology of HIV/AIDS and hepatitis C virus …

Early Childhood/Child Welfare Priority, Nancy Edick, Samantha K. Ammons, Melissa Cast-Brede, Ann Coyne, Karen Falconer Al-Hindi, Shari Hofschire, Lisa Kelly-Vance, Jay Killion, Sajda Qureshi, Bridget O. Ryalls, Peter Simi, Peter Wolcott

Foundational Documents

This is the executive summary of a white paper that describes the context, current capacity, areas of opportunity, and next steps for the UNO Early Childhood/Child Welfare Priority (ECCW). It responds to the need for comprehensive integrated systems of services designed to give all young children (birth through age eight) access to what they need in the early years to succeed in school and in life. In this context, UNO recognizes ECCW as critical to our metropolitan university mission. Further, we must come together with early childhood service providers, P-12 districts, parents, policy makers, other University of Nebraska campuses, community …

Changes In Spirituality Partly Explain Health-Related Quality Of Life Outcomes After Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction., Jeffrey M Greeson, Daniel M Webber, Moria J Smoski, Jeffrey G Brantley, Andrew G Ekblad, Edward C Suarez, Ruth Quillian Wolever

College of Science & Mathematics Departmental Research

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction is a secular behavioral medicine program that has roots in meditative spiritual practices. Thus, spirituality may partly explain Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction outcomes. Participants (N = 279; M (SD) age = 45(12); 75% women) completed an online survey before and after an 8-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program. Structural equation modeling was used to test the hypothesis that, following Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, the relationship between enhanced mindfulness and improved health-related quality of life is mediated by increased daily spiritual experiences. Changes in both spirituality and mindfulness were significantly related to improvement in mental health. Although the initial mediation hypothesis …

New York: An Analysis Of Current Changes In Party Support, Kerianne E. Kane

Senior Honors Projects

This paper is an analysis of the recent changes in party support throughout the state of New York. Based on research by James Gimpel and Jason Schuknecht in their 2004 book “Patchwork Nation,” the focus is on determining which specific factors have been contributing to the shifts in support for the two major parties in key regions of the state. In particular, migration and immigration as well as demographic changes within New York’s electorate are considered. More importantly, economic changes within the state and the effects they have had on party support are examined as well. My research is based …

Lister Hill Letter - December 2011, Lister Hill Library

Lister Hill Letter (2011-2015)

No abstract provided.

La Martinique D’Aimé Césaire : Une Terre De Pèlerinage Pour Le Monde Noir, André Ntonfo

Présence Francophone: Revue internationale de langue et de littérature

The paper is an account of a trip to Aimé Césaire’s country, Martinique which, after he passed away, is bound, for so many reasons, to become a land of pilgrimage. First of all, one discovers with emotion, his grave in a popular graveyard in a suburb where he chose to repose. Then, full of admiration, one moves about downtown Fort-de-France, a town on which Aimé Césaire left so many indelible marks in his capacity as spokesman for the people. In the same vein, the people sprinkled the town with so many marks acknowledging the achievements of the hero. Lastly, the …